The EcoCAR3 team of California State University, Los Angeles designed a Parallel Post Transmission Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PPT PHEV) that will maintain consumer acceptability in the areas of performance, utility and safety with the end-goal of reducing Well-to-Wheel Green House Gas (WTW GHG) emissions and Well-to-Wheel Petroleum Energy Use (WTW PEU). The team utilizes the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro platform with modifications such as 2.4L Ecotec engine, a 134 HP electric motor and a 12.6 KW/h battery pack. The vehicle is estimated to have a fuel economy of 58.7 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (mpgge).

This paper presents the vehicle’s two main operating modes, Electric Vehicle (EV) and Hybrid-Electric Vehicle (HEV) while performing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certified drive cycles: 505, HWFET, US06 City and US06 HWY. Also presented, is the optimized propulsion control strategy which lowers WTW GHG and WTW PEU achieved while extending energy storage system life, increasing the mpgge to 59.6 under the new modified control strategy defined as “I.W.U.” (Internal Combustion Engine and Warm Up) mode.

The implementation of the new mode allows the full deployment of propulsion, achieving competition and team design targets. In addition, results from running EPA drive cycles with this optimized control strategy, including fault diagnostic section, are presented in this paper. All modeling and simulation data was obtained using Autonomie software from Argonne National Laboratories. This endeavor was made possible with the support from the United States Department of Energy, General Motors, Argonne National Laboratory, Mathworks and other sponsors.